


We are Doku.

by ADeadMissionary



Category: Marvel (Comics), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:20:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23456176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADeadMissionary/pseuds/ADeadMissionary
Summary: Izuku felt something between his shoulder blades, and a long black tendril of writhing, rippling black goo pushed out of his back. It slowly curled around his body to hover in front of his face.Two white splotches formed two alien eyes; lips split open and drew back, revealing rows of crooked needle teeth; an inhuman tongue spilled out of the maw to moisten the teeth with a monstrous hiss.“Midoriya Izuku,” it growled, “I am Venom, and you are mine.”
Relationships: Midoriya Izuku & Everyone, Midoriya Izuku & Venom Symbiote (Marvel), Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako
Comments: 20
Kudos: 82





	1. A Slime Cocktail with a Twist

**Author's Note:**

> Venom translated to Japanese is Dokueki, literally "Poison Liquid". Doku is "Poison". Deku. Doku. Whatever, I thought it was clever, so it stays.
> 
> Anyway, the only Marvel influence here are the Symbiotes. No other Marvel characters will appear.

Sewers, the place where all human waste goes. A relatively still place; as you would expect, there isn't a lot of movement down in the sewers.

Except for today.

A puddle was moving, black as pitch, the obsidian surface rippling in an unseen breeze as the entire mass crept along; A giant mass of transparent green sludge with two yellow eyes zipping through the tunnels as fast as it could possibly go; and, finally, a golden haired mountain of a man chasing after.

As the green sludge fled, it rolled its yellow eyes back to check the tunnel behind for the pursuer, so preoccupied that it didn't even notice when it slithered right through the black goo, or when it drew in, seemingly absorbed into its own green mass. Even if it _did_ notice, it wouldn't have cared; it was far from the first bit of filth to be sucked up from these sewers.

Seeing the coast was clear, the yellow eyes rolled forward, widening as they found opportunity. An access ladder! He flew up the ladder and brought himself to the surface, which happened to be in the shadow of a bridge. Eyes rolling about, he spotted the perfect place to hide: a small, green haired boy in a black middle school uniform.

"Hey, you!" the sludge shouted, freezing the child in place. With all the speed he can muster he surges over the boy, shoving an oddly black tendril into the boy's mouth.

"Thanks for your meatsuit, kid! You're my _hero,_ " the villain quipped at the struggling child.

Just as it seemed hopeless, the blond haired man exploded out of the manhole. Faster than the eye can see the man punched the air, creating a shockwave that splattered the sludge over the interior arch of the bridge. The boy collapsed, the black tendril still inside.

Izuku woke up to someone rapidly patting his face. Opening his eyes, he sees the Number 1 Hero: All Might standing over him with his trademark smile.

"YOUNG MAN, ARE YOU WELL? YOU SEEM QUITE PALE," said All Might, never dropping his smile.

Now that he mentioned it, Midoriya was feeling rather sick. His throat felt as though it were burning and his stomach was twisting and churning.

"I'm just feeling a little queasy." Midoriya said, not quite noticing who he was talking to yet. He snapped to attention, eyes wide. "Wait a second! You're _All Might!_ "

The hero laughed, a large sound from a large man. "HAHA! YOU MUST BE A FAN!"

"Oh, yes sir!" Izuku chattered. He reached for his bag, pushing his hand down into it immediately, only to freeze, a dismayed look on his face.

All Might noticed, and his grin grew even wider, if that were possible. "LOOKING FOR THIS?" He pushed his hand forward and in it was Izuku's notebook, the last page now filled with the hero's large autograph.

Izuku was on his feet in a flash, snatching the book and bowing ninety degrees at the waist. "THANK YOU SIR! I WILL TREASURE THIS ALWAYS!"

All Might boomed another mighty laugh. "HAHA! I APPRECIATE THAT, YOUNG MAN! IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO MEET MY ADMIRERS!"

Izuki stood from his deep bow, only to sway as his vision swam. All Might reached out a beefy hand and steadied his young fan with a touch on his shoulder, his brow pinched in concern.

"YOUNG MAN, ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE ALRIGHT?"

Izuku shook his head, trying to clear the fuzzy feeling away. "Ye-yes, sir! I'm fine!" He straightened his back and shoulders, determined to be strong in front of his idol.

The big man didn't look entirely convinced, but he backed away. "IF YOU'RE SURE. SORRY I CAN'T STAY, BEING THE NUMBER ONE HERO COMES WITH A TIGHT SCHEDULE. AWAY!"

With a flex of his mighty legs, All Might was gone. Izuku would have loved to spend more time with his hero, so badly in fact that once upon a time he may have done something foolish in pursuit of that goal. But this time, his stomach heaved and lurched, and it was taking all of his concentration just to stay on his feet, rather than fall to his knees and puke his guts out all over the street in front of the Symbol of Peace.

Now that he was alone, he did just that.

 _Funny,_ he thought idly as he painted the sidewalk with green ooze, _when it was going in, I thought it was black._

* * *

Head spinning, stomach rioting, and sweating with fever, Izuku stumbled home. Unlocking the door, which usually only took a few seconds, was now a task of some minutes as his vision swam before his eyes so badly that he had to lean on the door to keep from toppling over. His weight was still on the door when the knob finally turned and he spilled into the apartment, crashing down on his front stoop. The step's edge digging into his ribs and his backpack landing on top of him knocked the breath from his lungs.

"Izuku?!"

Izuku barely had the energy to raise his head as his mother bustled over to him, pulled his backpack off and set it to the side.

"H-hey, mom. Don't worry, I just fell. I'm fine," he wheezed.

"Oh, baby! You are _not_ fine," Inko Midoriya fretted as she pulled her son up off the step and laid him on an open bit of floor. "Look at you! You're so pale and," she laid her hand on his forehead only to pull back as if stung," _you're burning up_! Oh, my poor baby! I need to call an ambulance!" She stood to put action to words when a voice in Izuku's head spoke.

_**DON'T LET HER!** _

Too delirious to recognize the voice as not his own, Izuku surged up, grabbed his mother's hands in his own and drew her back down to kneel next to him as he laid on the floor.

"Mom, I'm fine," he assured, gently squeezing her hands and smiling through the pain. "It's just the flu. Once I get some sleep, I'll be fine."

"Oh, _Izuku…_ " she fretted, squeezing his hands in hers. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, mom," he reassured, still smiling. He went to sit up, and his mother hurried to help with an arm around his shoulders. "Thanks. And I'm fine, really. I just need to go to bed.. _._ "

"Do you want something to eat?" she asked as she helped him to his feet.

Izuku clutched his gut as his stomach growled an angry warning. "I don't think that's a good idea," he gulped.

Shortly, his mother had hustled him to his room, given him something for his fever, gotten him changed into his sleepwear and tucked him in. She was scarcely out the door before he slipped into a fitful slumber.

* * *

_**He was thrashing in an ocean of black ooze, desperate to keep his head above the abyssal depths. The ooze was alive, cold tendrils reaching up to wrap around his limbs and pull them under. Kicking and screaming with all his might, he was inexorably drawn under. When only his face remained, he watched as a great black coil rose up to loom over him. Two white splotches formed two alien eyes; lips split open and drew back, revealing rows of crooked needle teeth; An inhuman tongue spilled out of the maw to moisten the teeth with a monstrous hiss. It drew back, the demonic maw spread wide, then it came down on him with a beastial shriek, teeth digging into his skull-** _

In the dark of his bedroom, Izuku flew off his bed with a shout, tangling in his sheet and blanket and hitting the floor with a muffled thump. After a brief, desperate struggle, he tore the grasping cloth off, scurried blindly to where he thought the light switch was and scrabbled at the wall until he finally found it. When the light came on, he pressed his back flat against the wall, gasping, eyes flying to every corner of the room like he expected the shadows themselves to leap out and devour him.

After a tense minute of silence, broken only by his ragged breathing, Izuku finally relaxed. Sliding down the wall, he sat on the floor, holding his head with one hand and clutching his chest over his thundering heart with the other.

"A dream?" he panted incredulously. His ruminating was interrupted by his stomach letting out a ferocious growl. Hunger made itself known, so intense it caused him actual, physical pain.

Clutching his gut with one hand, Izuku forced himself up and moved to leave his room. As he opened the door, he noticed a note flutter down from where it had been closed in the frame. His hand adroitly plucked it from the air before he'd even fully processed what was happening. Pausing, he blinked at the - for him, anyway - strangely dextrous act.

His stomach growling loudly reminded of the gnawing hunger. He read the note as he walked to the kitchen.

_Izuku, I let your school know you're not coming today._

_I made breakfast. It's in the microwave, try to eat even if your stomach is still upset, you need to keep up your strength._

_I'll call to check on you during my lunch break, but please call my work if you feel any worse than you did last night._

_-Love, mom._

Beelining for the microwave, Izuku dropped the note on the counter and pulled open the door, revealing a traditional breakfast of a fish filet, fried eggs and miso soup. Not even bothering with reheating, he grabbed the filet and stuffed it into his mouth. The eggs followed just as quickly, then he washed it down with the lukewarm miso.

His stomach roared its dissatisfaction. Turning to the refrigerator, he threw the door open. Eyes alighting on a box of microwaveable breaded fish patties, he snatched it out, tore it open and ate the eight fish shaped patties straight out of the box, one after the other and barely taking the time to chew. When the bready snack dried his mouth, he dropped the empty box, grabbed a carton of soymilk and drank the whole thing in a single long drought.

Feeling better but still not satisfied, Izuku dropped the carton and resumed his search. A two pack of uncooked pork cutlets practically jumped off the shelf into his hands, the plastic shrink wrap barely slowed him down and before he knew it, he was biting into the cold, raw meat.

It was possibly the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted.

Eyes rolling back, Izuku groaned with pleasure. Much too soon, the first bite was gone. He demolished the rest of the first cutlet in two bites, cheeks stuffed as he forced himself to chew more slowly, so he could savor it more fully. He'd scarcely swallowed and was about to tear into the second cutlet when the phone rang.

Startling, Izuku whipped his head around to stare at the wall mounted device. Blinking confusedly, he slowly reached out, lifted the handset from its cradle and held it to his ear.

"Uh, Moshi moshi?"

" _Izuku! There you are, sweetie. Why aren't you answering your cell?_ "

His mother was calling? Looking at the electric clock, he was surprised to note it was just after twelve thirty. It was only then that he noticed the midday sun streaming through the little window over the sink. Then her question registered in his mind.

"My cell?" he questioned. Setting the package with the remaining cutlet down on the counter, he used his newly free hand to check the pockets of his shorts. They were empty. "Sorry, mom. I must've left it in my room."

" _Oh, that's alright. I'm just glad I got a hold of you. You sound much better than you did last night. How are you feeling?_ "

Izuku did a quick internal check, holding the back of his free hand to his forehead. "I'm still a little warm, but I feel fine otherwise."

" _That's great, honey! You're in the kitchen, right? Did you get something to eat?_ "

The answer died in his throat as Izuku looked upon the empty boxes, crumbs and spilled soy milk that littered the kitchen floor. Mutely, he reached out and closed the refrigerator door that he'd left hanging open.

" _Izuku? Are you there?_ "

"Oh! Yeah. Sorry, mom. I, uh, yeah." He stared, hard, at the package that held the remaining _raw_ pork cutlet, identical to the one he'd _just finished eating. Raw._ With his _bare hands._ "I've eaten plenty."

" _That's good. I'm so relieved that you're feeling better. I love you. I'll see you soon, okay?"_

"Yeah, mom. See you soon. Love you."

Izuku placed the phone back in its cradle, still staring at the package with the raw cutlet. Lifting his other hand, his nose wrinkled as he looked closely, disgusted to confirm that, _yes,_ it _was_ smeared with bread crumbs and greasy, uncooked pork bits.

Dropping the hand back to his side, he stared at the mess he'd made while he'd gorged himself. After reviewing _what_ he'd eaten and _how_ he'd eaten it, he only had one question for himself.

"What is _wrong_ with me?"

* * *

After cleaning up his mess and taking a quick shower, Izuku decided to go to the store and buy replacements for everything he'd consumed. He knew his mother wouldn't mind that he'd eaten what he had, especially since he was sick, but he just didn't feel right about blowing through so much food and then expecting his mother to go shopping to make up for it.

After changing into some black cargo shorts, a white t-shirt with 'casual T-shirt' printed across the chest in bold black letters and his favorite red shoes, he grabbed his wallet and stuffed his meagre savings inside.

"So much for that new All Might figure," he grumbled to himself as he turned to leave. He paused just as he got to the door, then stepped back to dig through one of his drawers for a face mask. He didn't _think_ he was too contagious, but he didn't want to risk spreading around… _whatever_ it was he had.

Pausing by the front door, he grabbed a green hoodie off the coat rack and locked up. Then it was only a ten minute walk to the closest store.

It started off fine. He went to the frozen section, grabbed a box of frozen fish patties. Then it was a short walk to grab the soy milk.

Then he was in the refrigerated section, confronted by an entire wall of raw meat.

"Hnng!" Izuku doubled over as his stomach roared to life, groaning as insatiable hunger clawed at his insides. He staggered away, terrified of what he'd do if he stayed. Just as he was about to escape into a less _stimulating_ area of the market, movement caught the corner of his eye.

The live fish tank. A label in the corner marked them _katsuo,_ but all Izuku could see was _fresh, wriggling, juicy_ _ **flesh.**_

Before he knew what was happening, Izuku was plunging his arm into the tank. Then he yanked it out, splashing water everywhere and revealing a fish half as long as he was tall thrashing in his grip.

A hand with webbed fingers clamped his wrist. Izuku looked up to see a fish-faced man glaring down at him from over the counter.

"WHAT THE HELL, KID!?"

Izuku stared, stupefied, wondering if he was hallucinating that a fishman had come to save his fish brethren. Then he noticed the fishman's wearing a white cap and a dark apron with the market's logo and realized it was an employee with a mutation quirk.

"WELL?!"

Izuku started, mind racing as he glanced down at the fish that was still wriggling in his hand.

"I… I need to buy this!" he slapped the fish down on the nearby counter. Seeing he wasn't being robbed, the ironic fishmonger let him go.

" _Goddamn right you're buying it_ ," the fish-faced employee muttered crossly as he wrapped and weighed the fish for sale.

There was a register next to the prep station, so Izuku dug out his wallet and paid for the fish and his other items(which took nearly all of his cash). Plastic sack with the groceries hanging from one arm and the fish tucked under the other, he fled the store and down the nearest dark alley.

* * *

On the corner, a tall, thin young man in dirty white sneakers, ripped blue jeans, red shirt and black jacket with the sleeves rolled up was crouched in the shadow of the building, back resting against the brick. A lit cigarette hung from his lips, casting his face in a dull red glow, revealing no remarkable features except for two stubby, red horns that grew from his forehead. Though his head didn't move, dark eyes tracked the other, shorter youth in the green hoodie and surgical mask as he disappeared behind a corner. The horned hooligan stood up and followed.

He found his mark exactly where he thought he would, standing before a brick wall with no means of escape. The kid in the green hoodie was facing away from him, shoulders hunched, head bobbing and jerking.

"Hey, kid!" the hooligan called without preamble. "I noticed you coming from the store. I bet you have some change leftover, _right?_ I bet you wouldn't mind sharing, _right?_ "

When his target didn't answer, just carrying on with whatever he was doing, the horned delinquent frowned. Grabbing his cigarette, he flicked it angrily away before reaching forward to grab his mark's shoulder. "Hey! _Hey!_ I'm talking to you, dammit! It's rude to ignore someone, _right?_ "

The kid spun and the punk barely jerked his hand back in time to save his fingers from snapping jaws. Startled, the horned teen jumped back, lost his footing and fell on his butt. Above him, the kid in the green hoodie glared down at him with huge, blank white eyes and snarled with a mouth with _way_ too many sharp teeth. A tail fin hung from one hand, all that remained of what was once a twenty kilogram fish.

" **Get lost!** " the little monster snarled.

The delinquent nodded rapidly in agreement and squeaked, " _Right!_ You bet!" Then scrambled away, face white with terror.

* * *

Izuku walked into his apartment, placed his groceries away in the fridge, threw his used face mask away, went to the dining table, pulled out a chair and sat down. Then, placing his elbows on the wood, he sank his face down into his hands.

Though his body was still, his mind raced. He'd been willing to accept his strange episode in the kitchen as merely a lapse in judgement, caused by his fever. The strange behavior in the market, though? Not to mention the _alley._ He'd eaten that fish raw, bones and all, and if his receipt was to be believed, that was over _twenty kilograms!_ What kind of illness causes such ridiculous hunger?

And he'd scared that guy with the horns. His memory was a little blurry, but did he try to _bite him?!_

No, this was not some flu. This was something else entirely. Hadn't that sludge villain from yesterday come up out of the _sewer?_ Who knew what kind of freaky diseases-

Wait.

_Wait._

What had that villain said?

"'Thanks for your meatsuit'," Izuku muttered to himself. As the full implications sunk in, his face slowly rose from his hands, wide eyed and pale. " _Meatsuit?_ " he whispered.

"MEATSUIT!" he shouted, shoving away from the table. As he stood, he knocked his chair over with a clatter and stumbled over it. As he fell, his arm snapped up. A thick rope of black goo shot from his palm, stuck to the ceiling, yanked him up and withdrew back into his palm.

Izuku was left standing in the middle of his kitchen, staring blankly at the back of his outstretched hand. He turned his trembling hand, glanced at the palm, saw it was empty. Hands shaking, he slicked back his sweat soaked hair and clutched his head.

" _I thought All Might got that villain?_ " he muttered to himself. " _But I puked a bunch of slime after, so definitely not_ _all_ _of him. Could he regrow inside someone, like a parasite?_ "

_**PARASITE!?** _

Izuku jumped, then whirled around, looking for the origin of the voice. "Who said that!?"

There was no one there.

There was no one there, and that meant the voice he had heard came from… _inside._

"I… have to call the police!" Izuku cried as he lunged for the wall-mounted phone.

_**NO!** _

Izuku's body froze, fingertips hovering millimeters over the plastic. He groaned and strained and pushed, but with all of his effort, he only just managed to touch the handset with the tip of a single finger.

"Why… can't… I… move…?"

He felt… _something_ between his shoulder blades, and a long black tendril of writhing, rippling black goo pushed out of his back. It slowly curled around his body to hover in front of his face.

Two white splotches formed two alien eyes; lips split open and drew back, revealing rows of crooked needle teeth; an inhuman tongue spilled out of the maw to moisten the teeth with a monstrous hiss.

Izuku's eyes were wide and bloodshot as he stared at his literal nightmare come to life. And then it spoke.

" _ **Midoriya Izuku,**_ " it growled, " _ **I am Venom, and**_ _ **you**_ _**are**_ _ **mine**_ _ **.**_ "

* * *


	2. First Taste

" _ **Midoriya Izuku,**_ " it growled, " _ **I am Venom, and**_ _ **you**_ _**are**_ _ **mine**_ _ **.**_ "

Izuku stared at the nightmare, wide-eyed but otherwise blank-faced, for several long seconds. Then, he turned back to the phone and pushed as hard as he could toward it. Grunting with effort, he managed to get three fingers on it before Venom reacted.

" **Enough!** "

Black tendrils shot from Izuku's back, and he was yanked upward. The phone clattered to the floor, and the room was filled with the long droning dial tone as the boy found himself stuck spread-eagle to the ceiling. The alien face pressed so close that Izuku could see his green irises reflected in the blank white splotches that passed for the monster's eyes. In some detached part of his brain, Izuku noted that the white was actually pearlescent, with a subtle, chromatic shimmer. They would have been beautiful if not for being attached to an eldritch monster.

" **I will not be ignored,** " the aforementioned eldritch monster growled.

"S-sorry!" Izuku stuttered. He tried for an apologetic bow, but the ooze holding him to the ceiling wouldn't let him move an inch.

" **Our time is short, so I'll make this quick. I'm in your head, Izuku. I've seen your thoughts, your memories. You're weak. A loser. You'll never get rid of me. If you even think to try…** "

The sound of the front door unlatching intruded into the threatening silence. Izuku's gaze flicked towards the sound, his heart jumping into his throat as he realized it was his mother. He looked back to Venom, and the monster drew its lips back to show off its horrifying maw filled with flesh-rending fangs.

" **Mommy goes first.** "

* * *

Placing her purse and two sacks of groceries on the step, Midoriya Inko turned and locked the door behind her. "Izuku, honey? Are you up?" she called as she stepped out of her shoes into her house slippers. She was bending down to grab her things when she heard a crash in the kitchen. Abandoning her groceries, she ran toward the sound and found her son sprawled out face-down on the linoleum.

"Oh, Izuku!" she cried as she rushed forward. As she helped her boy up, she couldn't help but notice he was paler than she had ever seen him, frightfully so. Fearing for his health, she pressed her hand to his forehead to check his temperature, asking questions rapid-fire as she went. "Are you alright? You're so pale! Did you faint?! Do you need to go to the hospital!?"

"I'm fine, Mom," Izuku wheezed, sounding like the breath had been knocked from his lungs. He waved vaguely at one of their dining chairs, which lay on its back on the floor. "I just tripped. Nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?" Inko pressed. She patted his arms, checking for bumps and broken bones. Then, holding him still by his shoulder, she guided his face back and forth with a touch on his chin, looking for bruises or black eyes. "I heard you from the hall. It sounded like a nasty fall!"

"I'm fine, Mom," Izuku said again. While she checked him over, her boy's green eyes drifted around the room, from the walls, to the floor, to the ceiling. Anywhere but Inko herself. He fidgeted, fingers wringing near his navel. "Mom, I, uh, I, I…" He hesitated, in that way she knew meant he was trying to think his way through something. "I'm really tired. Not sick!" He waved his hands frantically as he rushed to assure her before she could fret even more. "Just… tired, you know? I'm gonna go to bed."

"Okay, dear." Inko stepped back, wringing her hands with worry in a move almost identical to how Izuku had just done. "Are you hungry? I could bring you something."

Izuku shook his head, eyes downcast as he turned to go to his room.

"No, thank you. I ate too much for lunch."

* * *

_2:53 am_

Izuku stared listlessly at the glowing green numbers on the electric clock. He was more tired than he thought he'd ever been before, but sleep wouldn't come. He'd come close, but just as he'd nod off, fear would startle him awake. The fear of the thing inside. The fear of going to sleep and _something else_ waking up in his place _._

" _ **If you're not going to rest, then get up.**_ "

The voice startled Izuku, who shot up in his bed with a sharp inhale. "Why? What do you want?" he asked with a voice tinged with panic.

" _ **I'm hungry.**_ "

"Oh." Izuku slumped in relief, glad it was something so banal. "We can probably find something in the kitchen. You liked the fish patties, right?"

" _ **Don't want fish patties. I want something… fresher.**_ "

"Fresher?" Izuku parroted, confused. "The supermarket is closed. I can't get you another live fish."

" _ **Don't want live fish, either. Don't want any kind of fish.**_ "

"Well, what do you want?" Izuku asked, nervously looking around his room. It was disconcerting, talking to a disembodied voice, especially one as dark and twisted as Venom.

" _ **I**_ _**crave something… sweeter.**_ " Venom spoke with sadistic glee, hinting at something truly dark. The room momentarily fell into ominous silence.

"...Like a candy bar?"

" _ **Shut up and get dressed! We're going out.**_ "

* * *

Once again in the green hoodie/surgical mask combo he'd worn the previous day, Izuku slipped out the front door as quietly as he could, praying the entire time his mother wouldn't wake and discover him missing.

As he stepped onto the sidewalk, there was a car parked on the curb. As he walked by, something reflected in the dark-tinted window caught his eye. Venom stared back at him, grinning menacingly.

With a jump and a gasp, Izuku looked around wildly. When he saw he was alone, he looked back to the reflection. Reaching up, he touched his mask over his mouth, and the monster did the same, touching a hideous black talon to its own lips.

"W-w-why can I- can I see y-y-you?" Izuku asked, trembling.

" _ **I told you,**_ " the horrid reflection spoke. " _ **I am in your head.**_ "

Izuku closed his eyes, sucked in a shaky breath, and let it out in an attempt to get a hold of himself.

"O-okay. Okay." Izuku sniffed, opened his eyes and faced the dark-tinted reflection. "What are we doing out here?"

" _ **Just start moving. I'll tell you when we get there.**_ "

And so they went. The night air was cool as it passed over Izuku's pallid skin, and he shivered in spite of his hoodie. Whenever he passed another car, he could see Venom's reflection over his own in the windows. It gave him the terrifying feeling that the monster was prowling the street next to him.

As they went, the city gradually changed. Street lights were broken or missing entirely. Buildings were damaged, some burned, blasted, gouged, or worse. Plywood and tarps covered many windows and more than a few holes through the walls. It was the slums, where the sheer number of villain attacks outpaced the local district's meager budget for repairs.

" _ **We're here,**_ " Venom announced.

"W-why _here?_ " Izuku stuttered, glancing around nervously at all of the battle-scarred buildings.

" _ **Not so many lights. Lots of vantage points. Perfect hunting ground.**_ "

"Hunting!?"

" _ **Turn here.**_ "

With a stumble and a jerk, Izuku's body was directed into the nearest alley. He tried to stop, to dig in his heels, but his legs lurched forward against his will.

"Venom! Venom, what do you mean _hunting?!_ " he frantically demanded as his body was forced down the dark, narrow alley. They turned a corner into an even darker, narrower alley.

" _ **This.**_ "

"What do you…" Izuku's voice trailed off as his eyes adjusted to the dark, and the scene before him was revealed.

Blood, everywhere. Thick, wet crimson splashed across the ground and splattered high up the concrete walls. Lying in the middle of the gore at Izuku's feet was a pile of meat. It opened up in the middle, and Izuku's schooling kicked in and he began to name organs off in his head: intestine, kidney, stomach, liver, lungs, heart. As his gaze slowly slid up, his brain continued to idly label what he was seeing as it went: trachea, esophagus, mandible, maxilia, vomer bone, nasal bone. One of the sockets was empty, but the other one wasn't. A single, ice-blue eye gazed sightlessly upward, and Izuku stared at it.

And stared.

And stared.

And, finally, understood.

"This is a person."

" _ **Not anymore.**_ "

"Did you do this?"

" _ **No. He did.**_ "

_Snickt!_

A hand on his shoulder spun him around, and there was a wet slicing sound. Surprised by the sudden movement, Izuku stared wide-eyed up at a much taller person. They actually looked a lot like Izuku, with a dark hoodie, surgical mask, and curly hair peeking out from their hood, but all in black, rather than green. Equally dark eyes squinted down at him, curling at the edges with delight.

The other boy laughed, and it was a _boy's_ laugh, judging from how youthful it sounded. This person couldn't have been much older than Izuku.

"Hahahaaa! Another _volunteer!_ Now I'll get to see even more! I'm so lucky!" the other boy crowed giddily.

Izuku went to ask what the boy meant, but when he drew breath to speak, he felt a sharp pain. His gaze dropped, and he stared dumbly down at the other boy's hand and the bone-white blades that extended from his fingertips into his chest.

The young villain giggled psychotically as his latest victim slumped, the green hooded head falling limp. Adjusting his grip on the other boy's shoulder, he tugged the hand with the protruding blades away.

It didn't move.

The dark-haired villain tugged again.

Again, his hand didn't move, the blades firmly stuck in his victim's chest.

The delight bled from his dark eyes as he tugged again and again, the delighted curl turning to wrinkled irritation.

"Let go, you little bastard!" he grunted in frustration. He startled when the supposedly dead green-haired youth grabbed the wrist of the hand on his shoulder. Before the villain's wide eyes, black ooze bled through the green hoodie to coat the ventilated boy's body before swelling, growing taller and wider until the serial killer was staring up at a seven-foot-tall behemoth. The hand on the villain's wrist, now large enough to engulf his entire forearm, pulled the arm away, twisting it painfully. The villain growled and tugged but couldn't break the hold.

"No-no-no-no! It's not fair! You're supposed to be dead! I got you! _I got you!_ " he whined, sounding like a toddler who lost a game. "You're supposed to be _dead!"_ he repeated, his voice climbing higher and higher _._

Two white splotches formed eyes, thorny around the edges. Beneath them, a terrible, jagged line tore open, revealing multitudes of needle-like teeth set in a monstrous maw. It smiled down at the prey squirming in its grasp, uncaring of the five daggers still embedded in its chest.

" **No, you little bug.** _ **I**_ **got** _ **you**_ **.** "

"NO-NO-NO- _NO_!" the villain shouted back, still futilely trying to pull his arms free. "It's not fair!"

Venom wrapped his free hand around his victim's throat, fingers so large the tips met on the back of his neck. He relished the feeling of his prey's pulse racing beneath his touch.

" **Agree to disagree.** "

The ebony monster opened his maw and a truly horrendous tongue spilled forth, thick as a wrist and pouring with saliva. It coiled and writhed through the air like a living thing, stretching out over half a meter to drag a hot, drooling swath over the villain's face. The youth grimaced in disgust as the tongue flicked off his forehead and retracted.

"It's not fair," the youth muttered angrily to himself as he watched Venom's jaw spread unnaturally wide, exposing row after row of flesh rending fangs. "It's not fair. I haven't seen everything yet. It's not fair!"

The hollow crunching of bones echoed through the alley.

* * *

 _7:53 am_ read the electric clock as Inko Midoriya opened the door to her son's room a few inches and spoke into the gap.

"Izuku, I was just about to make breakfast. Are you hungry?"

There was no reply, or shuffling, or even snoring. It was completely quiet.

"Izuku?"

Opening the door a little wider, she stuck her head into the room. There was her son, on his bed as she expected, but to her surprise, he was sitting up, wearing his cargo shorts and green hoodie, curled into a ball with his arms wrapped around his legs, face buried in his knees.

Maternal instincts flaring, Inko stepped quickly into the room.

"Izuku? Are you okay?"

When he didn't answer, or even twitch, Inko made her way to his bed and sat beside him.

"Izuku? Sweetie?" She reached out, laid her hand on his shoulder. She was a little startled when, without a word, he turned and wrapped his arms around her. "Oh!"

To her growing alarm, her boy buried his face in her shoulder and began to weep, fists clenched in the back of her shirt. He clung to her more tightly than he ever had, to the point it was almost painful. Her own arms reflexively encircled him, one hand stroking his hair and the other going to his back. She felt something strange and looked down, over his shoulder. Holding up the back of his hoodie, she saw there were several parallel cuts in the green fabric, each a few centimeters long.

"What happened?"

When Izuku shook his head and sobbed even harder, Inko dropped the subject and the fabric, choosing instead to just hold her son as tightly as he held her.

* * *

At about the same time, Kamui Woods fell from the sky to land at the entrance of an alley in a less than savory neighborhood, his extended wood tendrils retracting back into his arms as he took a few steps to bleed off momentum. At about the same time, Mt. Lady came running up.

Still puffing and red-faced, the curvaceous blonde threw the other Pro a wink.

Kamui Woods rolled his eyes and looked away.

"Oh, Kamui! You being a sore loser?" Mt. Lady teased.

One of his eyes twitched, but the up-and-coming Hero refused to rise to the bait.

"Come on," he grunted, trying to mask his irritation and only mostly succeeding. "Death Arms sounded serious, and he's not the kind of guy to mess around."

"Good morning to you, too!" the only slightly younger Pro snarked as she followed the wood-user into the alley.

The morning sun was blocked by the buildings, casting them into a deep shadow, and both heroes had to blink multiple times as their eyes adjusted. When their vision cleared, they found Death Arms. The much taller hero was leaning against one of the walls, forehead pressed into one of his beefy forearms.

Kamui Woods had been working with the other Pro for months, and could tell from his pose and the tenseness of his massive shoulders alone that he was very upset.

"Death Arms, what's going on?" he asked.

Behind Kamui Woods, Mt. Lady's nose wrinkled as she caught a whiff of something putrid. Glancing around, she looked for something that could be responsible for the smell, but there wasn't anything to explain it, not even a garbage can.

"Villain attack," Death Arms said, though the deep strain in his voice undermined the simplicity of the statement.

Mt. Lady's gaze snapped back to Death Arms before resuming her glancing around, though now it was much more cautious. Even though there was obviously no villain currently attacking, Kamui Woods couldn't help a quick scan of his surroundings.

"What do you mean?" Kamui Woods asked as he returned his gaze to Death Arm's back.

Death Arms raised the arm he wasn't leaning on to point a large finger down the alley. "See for yourself."

Death Arms was so large that he nearly blocked the alley, but he made no move to make way, so the two much smaller heroes had to squeeze around him. They were completely unprepared for what they found on the other side.

Hours old blood stained the concrete, turning a crusty brown as it staled. And sitting in the middle of this gruesome puddle lay two mutilated corpses. One lay on flat on its back, naked from the waist up, arms at its sides and legs straight, its front starting from just above the groin and going all the way to the top of its head missing, making a tidy, if macabre view of its innards, looking very much like an anatomical diagram from a medical textbook. The other corpse lay crumbled against the brick, dressed all in black, arms and legs akimbo, and a stream of intestines flowing out of a huge hole ripped through its belly. In spite of all that, the most notable thing about it was that everything above the nose was missing, with flesh and bone alike torn and ragged at the edges.

Kamui Woods stood frozen, aghast at the sight, while behind him, Mt. Lady gasped in horror. The scent of putrid viscera was so thick in the air that she could actually _taste it,_ and the young heroine turned, bent over, and puked up her breakfast.

The sound of her retching snapped Kamui Woods out of his own funk with a noticeable twitch. Taking a deep breath (while silently sending up a prayer of thanks that his mask included a concealed respirator), he stepped right up to the edge of the gore and knelt to get an even closer look.

Still bent over, and reaching a steadying hand out to the nearest wall, Mt. Lady's stomach finally heaved its last. After spitting out what remained in her mouth, she gasped, "Who could _do_ something like this? Tear two people open…"

"A GODDAMN MONSTER!" Death Arms answered with a shout, punctuating it by punching a small crater into the brick near his head.

The other two heroes flinched at the unexpected noise. While Mt. Lady stood, looking pointedly away while whipping out a handkerchief from who-knows-where to press over her nose and mouth, Kamui Woods turned to look at his comrade from over his shoulder.

"Death Arms," he called. "You've been hanging around in this stench too long. It's messing with your head. Go get some air."

Death Arms whirled on Kamui Woods, glaring and gritting his teeth, looking mad enough to kill, but the younger, smaller man just held the raging hero's gaze, his dark eyes steady and understanding. Caught between them, Mt. Lady grew tense, glancing wearily at the much larger Pro.

After a long moment of strained quiet, Death Arms let his fists drop to his sides with a huff. He turned and walked away, his shoulders so broad he almost scraped the walls with every step.

Mt. Lady relaxed with a sigh. She turned to look at Kamui Woods, and found the up-and-comer was once again studying the macabre scene. She stepped up next to him, eyes grimacing at the awful sight over her handkerchief.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, more amazed than curious that he was actually studying the gruesome mess.

"It's just… There's something weird about this."

Mt. Lady gave a very unladylike snort. "Huh. You don't say."

Kamui Woods shot her a glare from the corner of his eye, but quickly turned back to what he'd been looking at before. He pointed at the first body. "This guy here, the anatomy model. Look at these cuts. They're clean, straight, and methodical. This is the kind of thing you'd expect to see at a medical school, not out on the streets." Now he pointed at the second body where it crumbled against the wall. "And that guy. He's been torn apart. Messy. And his head… look at the curve, and those grooves. I swear those are teeth marks. It's like the top half of his skull was _bitten off._ "

Just the idea of that had Mt. Lady's stomach rolling again, and she had to look away and take a few breaths to fight back the bile trying to well up her throat.

"But now look at that guy's hand," Kamui Woods continued, shifting his arm with his focus. It took a moment, but Mt. Lady dutifully looked at where he was pointing. She blinked at the bone-white blades that extended at least a half-meter from each fingertip. "Look at those swords! They'd be perfect for long, clean cuts."

The thought hung in the air, and it didn't take long for Mt. Lady to put two-and-two together.

"Like the cuts on the first guy?"

"Exactly," Kamui Woods said with a decisive nod. "I think this guy in black was playing doctor back here, and someone with an even meaner Quirk caught him, and took him apart."

Mt. Lady blinked and wondered aloud, "What, like a Vigilante? I thought they were all gone."

"I don't know. It could be…" he trailed off thoughtfully. Standing up, he crossed his arms and brooded over the scene before him, taking in the incredible violence, burning it into his mind as an example of the worst humanity had to offer.

Beside him, Mt. Lady was looking anywhere but at the bodies. The only thing keeping her there was a sense of duty, a feeling that she would be less of a Hero if she left. However, even that broke when the thick stench of death seeped through her handkerchief. Gagging and coughing, she turned and fled toward the street and cleaner air.

Kamui Woods was left alone. Far-off sirens faded into his awareness, and he noted idly that Death Arms must have called the police in to begin a proper investigation.

"I hope it is a vigilante," the Pro-Hero muttered to himself. He stared at the ravaged corpse crumpled against the brick, dark eyes intense as they traced the grooves in the half-missing skull, imagining the bone-rending fangs that made them. "Because I don't ever want _that_ to happen to an innocent."

* * *

End Chapter

Author's Note:

Many thanks to my fantastic friends TheoreticallyEva, Classyrogue, The Unaccomplished Writer, Upplet, and QueenAmaranthus for their wonderful editing, notes and just general support.

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on Discord, either DM or on the FFNet server.  
> ADeadMissionary#4037  
> https://discord.gg/bZNJXX (Only good for twenty four hours, DM me if you want an invite after)
> 
> Many thanks to amaranth for her beta work on this chapter.
> 
> P.S. YES, I am working on my other stories again, but the larger ones, especially Electric Eldritch Eidolon, are going to be down a while longer while they go through a rewrite. Be patient with me, I'm only just now finding time to write again.


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